


True Selves

by SingularSensation



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, Identity Reveal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-20
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-10-08 05:25:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10379496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingularSensation/pseuds/SingularSensation
Summary: Ladybug and Chat Noir have always kept their identities hidden for their own safety, but when Chat decides this is no longer a secret he is willing to keep from his partner, things get a little out of hand.





	1. Chapter 1

The overgrown roof garden was silent and empty except for one dark figure, pacing nervously and muttering to himself.  He was so lost in thought that he didn’t even notice when a second figure swung onto the roof and joined him. 

 

“Hello, Chat,” she called, startling him. 

 

“M-milady, you’re here.”

 

“Well, you did invite me,” Ladybug responded, smirking a little at his nervousness.  She had never seen this side of Chat Noir before, and she was rather enjoying it. 

 

“So I did,” he chuckled half-heartedly, motioning her to sit on a rundown bench.  They had stumbled across this rooftop garden nearly a year ago during one of their patrols.  It was completely overgrown and seemed to be abandoned.  They had adopted it as their headquarters as it made for an excellent meeting place, away from the public eye.  “I have something I want to talk to you about.”  He settled down next to her.

 

The two heroes sat side by side, looking out at the city unfolded below them.  The sun was just beginning to set, casting the skyline in beautiful shades of orange.  Ladybug kept stealing glances at her partner, but he was steadfastly ignoring her gaze and fiddling nervously with his gloves. 

 

She bumped her shoulder into his playfully, “What’s the matter, _cat_ got your tongue?”

 

He looked at her incredulously, “So it’s ok when you make a cat pun, but it’s all eye rolls and dramatic sighs when I make one?” 

 

She grinned at him, “Just trying to lighten the mood, kitty.  Didn’t mean to _bug_ you.” 

 

He heaved a fake exasperated sigh, his apprehension melting away and a grin stretching across his face as well.  He loved this girl, and he trusted her more than anyone.  He could do this.  He took a deep breath, “I want to tell you something, milady.”

 

“Of course, Chat, you can tell me anything.”

 

“I want to tell you who I am, under the mask I mean.” 

 

“Anything but that,” she replied, rising to her feet. 

 

“Ladybug, wait!”

 

“No, Chat.  We’ve talked about this.  It’s too dangerous for us to know one another.  If one of us is captured, Hawk Moth could make us reveal the identity of the other.  And if he knows who we really are, he could go after the people we care about.” She detached her yoyo from her hip, preparing to leave. 

 

Chat Noir reached out and gripped her arm.  “Please, milady, don’t go.  Ju-just hear me out.” 

 

She pulled her arm out of his grip, and folded them across her chest, still gripping her yoyo.  The sincerity in his cat-like eyes and pleading note in his voice caused her resolve to crumble, just slightly.  She had a soft spot for her partner.  He had always been there for her.  The least she could do was hear him out.  With a sigh, she nodded at him, sitting back down on the bench.  “Ok, you have two minutes.” 

 

He flashed her a grateful smile, but it faded quickly as he realized he didn’t know how to begin.  He reached up and ruffled his hair, absentmindedly, wracking his brain for the right words to say. 

 

“The clock is ticking,” Ladybug called out, slight irritation evident in her voice.

 

He sighed, better to say something than nothing at all.  “Look, Ladybug, my life was always pretty…” he searched for the right word, “lonely, I guess.  So when I got my miraculous two years ago, when I got the chance to become a superhero, and met you?  Honestly, it was the best thing that ever happened to me.  But it’s hard too, you know?   Hard not being able to talk to anyone about this huge part of my life.”

 

“You can talk to me about it, Chat, and your kwami, of course,” Ladybug replied, softening a bit at his confession.

 

Chat Noir rolled his eyes in response.  “Plagg is great…when he wants to be, and I know I can talk to you, but it’s tricky.  I always have to be so careful to choose my words so I don’t give too much away.  I feel like I’m spending my whole life lying to people.  Lying to you about my personal life, and lying to my friends about my superhero life. It’s exhausting, isn’t it?”  He looked at her, beseechingly.

 

She had to agree.  It wasn’t easy keeping so many secrets.  It would be nice to have one person who knew both sides of her, wouldn’t it?  Someone besides Tikki that she never had to lie to or make up excuses for.   She let herself imagine it for a moment.  Meeting Chat Noir without the mask, having his support and loyalty as Marinette as well as Ladybug.  It was nice to imagine, but she stiffened her resolve.  “I know, kitty.  I do, but we have to keep our identities secret.  It’s the only way to keep ourselves and each other safe.” 

 

“I’ve thought about that, too,” Chat responded, taking a deep breath and steeling himself for his next argument.  “And I’ve decided that it’s ridiculous.”

 

Ladybug scoffed, but Chat ignored her and continued talking.

 

“There is no way that me revealing myself to you could ever possibly put me in danger.  If Hawk Moth ever captures you, I’d be there before he could even ask you who I am.  If he captures you, he’s as good as caught me, too.  I will _always_ go after you, milady.”

 

Ladybug felt her heart skip.  “Don’t say that,” she whispered. 

 

“Why not?  It’s the truth.  And let’s be honest, you’re the important one in this duo.  It’s my job to protect you, to be the distraction, to do whatever it takes to make sure that you can get _your_ job done.  Without Ladybug, Chat Noir is basically useless,” he said this matter-of-factly and Ladybug could tell that he actually meant it. 

 

“You are far from useless, Chat," she replied, reaching out and placing a hand on his arm.   I could _never_ do this job without you.  We’re a team.  Partners.  There’s no Ladybug without Chat Noir, so don’t think you would be doing me any favors by putting yourself in danger to try and save me.  It would just mean I would have to find a way to rescue you back.” 

 

Chat Noir could feel himself start to flush, and was grateful that his mask covered so much of his face.  He wanted so badly to tell her how he really felt.  To tell her that his flirtatious lines weren’t an act, that he was in love with her.  Instead, he put on his best Chat Noir smirk and sent her a wink.  “Aww, bugaboo, I knew you cared.” 

 

Ladybug drew back and rolled her eyes at the nickname.  She’d never let on, but she kind of liked it when he called her ‘bugaboo’ even though he always did it in that joking, flirty, tone.  She didn’t know what to think of the rest of their conversation.  He made some good points.  She understood the importance of keeping their identities a secret, but maybe it _wouldn’t_ be the worst thing if they confided just in each other.  She needed time to think.  “Time’s up, kitty,” she called out, getting to her feet and readying her yoyo.

 

Chat Noir instantly became serious again.  He was kicking himself for calling her ‘bugaboo’.  He knew how much she hated when he called her that, but it had just slipped out.  He couldn’t let her leave without an answer.   “Well, what do you think?  Even if I tell you my identity, you could still keep yours a secret if you want.  Please, Ladybug.” 

 

She had to turn away.  The pleading look in his eyes was too close to the doll eyes that she could never resist from Manon.  “Give me a day to think about it,” she called over her shoulder.  “I’ll meet you back here tomorrow night.”  With that, she swung away. 

 

Chat Noir watched her grow smaller, a slight smile on his face.

 

 

 

*                                  *                                  *

 

 

“Tikki, spots off,” Ladybug said with a sigh, after landing softly on the floor of her bedroom and transforming back into Marinette.  She was so lucky to have a room with roof access.  It made the whole superhero coming and going thing so much easier. 

 

She collapsed onto her chaise with a moan as Tikki flew over to the jar of chocolate chip cookies that Marinette kept on her desk for her. 

 

“What am I going to do?” Marinette asked, her voice muffled against the pillow. 

 

Tikki finished her cookie and flew over to snuggle her charge.  “It’s up to you, Marinette.” 

 

With a groan, Marinette rolled over and faced her kwami.  “I thought you said it was important that we keep our identities secret.” 

 

“It is,” Tikki agreed, “at least at first.  Once it is determined that the holders of the miraculouses are truly the right fit for the Ladybug and the Black Cat, and are able to work as partners, they are allowed to reveal their identities to each other, if they wish.”

 

“I just don’t know, Tikki.  What do you think I should do?”

 

“I can’t tell you that.  It has to be your decision, Marinette.  But for now, I think you should probably get started on those physic problems you have due tomorrow.”

 

Groaning yet again, Marinette climbed out of her bed and went in search of her school books, trying to put her conversation with Chat Noir out of her head for the time being.

 

 

*                      *                      *

 

 

“Plagg, claws in.” 

 

When his Chat Noir outfit vanished, Adrien went straight to the mini fridge to pull out a wedge of Camembert for Plagg, grinning widely.  His conversation with Ladybug had gone better than expected.

 

“What are you so happy about?” Plagg asked, sniffing the smelly cheese delicately before swallowing the wedge whole.  “It’s not like she said yes.” 

 

“But she didn’t say no!” Adrien responded, his grin widening further.  _And I managed to refrain from confessing my love to her, so double win!_   He thought to himself.  

 

“She still could, though,” Plagg replied, floating lazily near Adrien’s head, rubbing his stomach contentedly.  But Adrien ignored him.  He wasn’t going to let a grumpy kwami put a damper on his night.  Whistling happily to himself, he pulled out his school books and got to work on his physics homework.

 

 

*                      *                      *

 

 

At school the next day, Marinette was a wreck. 

 

“What is up with you, girl?” Alya asked, poking her best friend in the side.  “I was telling you about this new feature Nino is helping me with for the Ladyblog, but I don’t think you heard a word I was saying.”

 

“Sorry, Alya,” Marinette said with an apologetic smile.  “I’m just a little distracted today.  I didn’t sleep very well last night.”  It wasn’t a lie.  She had stayed up half the night trying to decide what she would say to Chat Noir when she met with him tonight.  She had almost decided to let him reveal his identity, when she started to worry about whether or not she should reveal herself in kind.  When she finally fell asleep, she was met with terrible dreams of Chat scoffing at her and dissolving their partnership when he learned she was just Marinette.  Despite Tikki’s reassurance that Marinette was just as awesome as Ladybug, she didn’t feel that way. 

 

“Everything ok?”  Alya asked, looking concerned.  “You know you can always talk to me, right?”  

 

Marinette shot her friend a grateful look.  “I know.  You’re the best, but I really am ok.  Tell me again what you’re doing with the Ladyblog.”  Alya hesitated a moment, but decided to take her friend at her word and launched back into an enthusiastic explanation of the music and video mixes that she and Nino had been working on.  Marinette was focused so hard on listening attentively to Alya, she didn’t even notice when Adrien slid into the seat in front of her.

 

“Dude, what happened to you?” Nino asked, turning to his best friend who was unpacking his bag. 

 

“What?” Adrien asked, confused, raising an arm to nervously tousle his hair.

 

“I think the bags under your eyes have bags under them.  Did you sleep at all last night?” 

 

“Oh, that,” Adrien responded with a laugh.  “I had a photo shoot that ran long.  By the time I got home and finished my homework, it didn’t leave much time for sleep.”  He felt a slight twinge of guilt at lying to the other boy.  In reality, he had finished his homework and gone to bed at a reasonable hour, but his dreams had been haunted by specters of Ladybug not wanting to know his identity or worse yet, not wanting to work with him once she realized who he really was.  He knew he hadn’t gotten more than an hour or two of sleep and he must look it. 

 

“You work way too hard, dude.  You should take it easy once in awhile.” 

 

Adrien smiled at him.  “I’m fine, really, but you’re right.  I’ll work on that.” 

 

Nino opened his mouth to say something more, but Miss Bustier came into the room and class began. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first fanfiction I have written in a good long time, and I am very obviously out of practice. I've also never written these characters before, so I apologize if they are somewhat Ooc. I just started watching Miraculous like a week ago, and I'm super obsessed with it right now. I've got the rest of the story sketched out, and it should be like 4 total chapters, I think. 
> 
> As pretty much the entire fandom does, I ship our two leading dorks and just want them to open their dang eyes and realize how perfect they are together. So here is my interpretation of how that might happen.
> 
> Edit: I went back through and tweaked a few things, including changing their meeting place, as the Eiffel Tower doesn't seem like a very stealthy location for an identity reveal. :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, that could have gone better.

Later that night, it was Ladybug who was nervously pacing the overgrown garden when Chat Noir swung in. 

“Evening, milady,” he greeted her, making an effort to keep his tone bright and carefree, despite the apprehension that was gnawing at his stomach.  

Ladybug jerked up her head to stare at him, eyes wide in sudden panic.  This moment had come far too soon for her.  She had thought about not coming, about buying herself some more time, but as Tikki had rightly pointed out, she owed her partner better than that.  So here she was, only she wasn’t even close to a decision.  She still didn’t know what answer to give him, but her time was up.  She chewed nervously on her lower lip and unconsciously wrung her hands.  _What if she made the wrong choice?  What if she ruined everything?_

Chat Noir took in her emotional state in a moment and felt his stomach drop.  He hadn’t meant to put this much pressure on her, and it was clear that this was a decision she wasn’t yet ready to make.  Without even thinking, he closed the distance between them and pulled her close, wrapping her in his arms.  “I am so sorry, Ladybug,” he murmured sincerely.  “I didn’t mean to cause you this much distress.  We’ll wait until you’re ready.  Forget about it for now.” 

She froze, her arms caught between her body and Chat Noir’s.  Sure, they had been in positions like this countless times before.  When fighting the akumas, they were always grabbing on to one another, swinging each other into better position or out of danger.  They had even exchanged quick hugs a few times, usually after especially close calls, but this was different.  For a brief moment when he first arrived, Ladybug had seen a glimmer of hope shining in his eyes, but it faded quickly and was replaced with resolve as he had taken in her sorry state.  Now, here he was, sacrificing himself for her, the way he always did.  Putting her interests in front of his own, and sacrificing the thing he wants most to protect her.  She couldn’t let him do that, not this time.  He was her partner, and she trusted him more than almost anyone.  For the past two years, since the day they met, he had _always_ been there for her, and it was time she returned the favor.  Freeing her arms, she returned Chat’s hug and, taking advantage of their closeness, she whispered in his ear.

“Show me.”

He pulled back in surprise, both at the fact that she had returned his embrace and at her words.  “No, it’s ok, LB.  I was being selfish.  We’ve got a good thing here.  Forget I said anything.” 

She reached out and squeezed his arm gently.  “I’m the one who was being selfish.  This is important to you.”  He tried to interrupt, but she continued.  “You wouldn’t have brought it up if it wasn’t.  I trust you, kitty.”

Hope sparked in his green eyes once again.  “Are you sure?”

Taking a deep breath, Ladybug nodded at him.  “Show me, Chaton.” 

Grinning broadly, as if he couldn’t believe his luck, Chat Noir took a step backwards, but he maintained eye contact, giving her one final chance to change her mind.

“Plagg, claws in.” 

 

Ladybug fought the urge to squeeze her eyes shut as she saw the flash of green light.  She forced herself to watch as the ears and mask vanished and the tight, black suit transformed into regular, everyday clothes.  Something black shot out of his ring and vanished into his shirt pocket.  She was momentarily distracted by what she assumed must be Chat Noir’s kwami, so it took her a few seconds to redirect her attention to the boy in front of her.  When she had, her hands shot up to her mouth with a gasp.  “ _A-A-Adrien_?”

Adrien was watching Ladybug’s face very carefully as he transformed, grateful that Plagg had kept his word to make himself scarce.   He wanted to know what her real initial reaction was before she had time to gather herself.  He watched as her expression flashed from shock to confusion to joy to horror, before finally settling on disbelief. 

 _Well, at least she didn’t land on horror,_ Adrien thought to himself.  But then his mind caught up.  “Wait, you know me?”

Ladybug’s thoughts were racing.  _Adrien?  How could it be Adrien?  How had she never realized it was him?_   She tried to put the pieces together, tried to reconcile the fact that cocky, flirty Chat Noir was the same person as her sweet, gentlemanly classmate.  Vaguely she realized that he was looking at her, as if waiting for an answer to a question she hadn’t heard.   “W-what?”

Adrien looked a little nervous.  He was afraid that he had somehow broken Ladybug.  He had never seen her this thrown off before.  “How did you know my name?  Do we know each other?”

She panicked.  She couldn’t tell Adrien who she really was.  She was so boring compared to him.  He would be so disappointed to learn that his partner under the mask was the clumsy girl who could barely speak to him.  She wracked her brain for a different idea  “I, uh, your body is all over Paris.  I mean Paris is your face.  I mean…”  She took a deep breath and spoke very deliberately.  “You’re a famous model.  Your face is all over Paris.  Of course I recognize you.” 

“Oh,” he responded flatly, looking crestfallen. 

“Plus, we’ve met, right?”  Ladybug continued hurriedly, noticing the disappointment on his face and wanting to remedy it.  “At least a few times, during akuma attacks?  Volpina for sure…and _that_ explains how you knew it was an illusion on the Eiffel Tower…”  She was rambling now, but she couldn’t help it.  She was still wearing her suit and mask, but standing in front of Adrien, she felt like regular old Marinette. 

“Yeah,” Adrien responded, looking a little relieved that she at least remembered him.  “I couldn’t really be in two places at once, but I couldn’t tell you that.”   He forced a laugh as he nervously raised an arm and rubbed the back of his neck.  It was a gesture that Ladybug had seen him do so many times, both as Chat Noir and as Adrien.  She kicked herself for never making that connection.  “So…” he continued.  “What do you think?”

Ladybug had no idea how to answer that question.  Words had always flowed so easily between her and Chat.  That comfortable banter had been one of her favorite things about their partnership, but now, faced with the knowledge that Chat was Adrien, she was becoming tongue-tied.

The silence stretched on, with Adrien growing increasingly self-conscious as Ladybug failed to answer his question.  “Are you alright, milady?” he asked gently, stepping towards her and making a motion to lay a hand on her arm.

She pulled back quickly, blushing a deep crimson at the sound of Chat’s nickname for her coming out of Adrien’s mouth.  “You’re fine!” she nearly shouted, in an attempt to draw attention away from her blushing.  “No, I mean, I’m fine.  Yeah, everything is fine,” she corrected quickly with a slightly hysterical laugh. 

Adrien opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted by chirp from his cell phone.  “Sorry, that’s my Ladyblog alert,” he muttered, distractedly, pulling his phone from his pocket.   “There’s a report of an akuma attack, near the Arsenal Library.” 

“I should go,” Ladybug said, fumbling slightly with her yoyo as she tried to remove it from her hip as quickly as possible.  She had never been more grateful to Hawk Moth in her life.

“Yeah, of course,” Adrien responded.  “I’ll suit up and meet you there?”  He didn’t mean for that last part to come out as a question, but it had. 

“Sure, fine,” Ladybug replied, not quite meeting his eye.  Without another word, she swung herself off the roof and was gone. 

“That went well,” Plagg stated, emerging from his hiding spot in Adrien’s shirt. 

“Shut up and eat your cheese.”

 

*                      *                      *

 

The wind whipping past her face as she swung herself across the city did nothing to clear her thoughts.  _Adrien, how could it be Adrien?_ She tried to think about it logically, but her thoughts were racing too quickly to be put into any sort of meaningful order.  She couldn’t even decide whether or not she regretted finding out.  What she needed right now was a good, old fashioned akuma attack.  One with lots of noise and action and chaos to distract her. 

Unfortunately, this wasn’t _that_ kind of akuma. 

As she approached the library, she saw a stream of people fleeing the area, only they were doing so without yelling, crying, or even speaking.  In fact, they were completely silent; She couldn’t even hear the sound of their footsteps.  _Well, that’s not weird at all_ , she thought to herself, dropping to the ground in order to approach more cautiously. 

Some of the people she was passing noticed her, and tried to call out, but they only moved their mouths silently.  She gestured at them to keep moving and she continued on in the direction that they were fleeing from.  About a block away from the library, she still had seen no sign of the akuma victim, but she did see Alya, crouched behind a parked car, typing furiously on her phone.  Ladybug rolled her eyes at her friend’s lack of self-preservation and quickly crossed to her hiding place. 

“You should get out of here,” Ladybug whispered to her urgently.

Alya jumped at the sound, not having noticed the approaching hero.  Her face lit up at seeing Ladybug so close.  “Ladybug!  You’re here!” she mouthed, but no sound came out. 

“What’s going on?”  Ladybug asked her quietly.

 

Alya quickly typed out a response on her phone. 

 

 _Akuma=Silencer_  
_Shushes ppl =/sound_

 

“Does she have any other powers?  Weapons?”

 

 _A book maybe?_  
Mostly just the no sound thing.  
_Should be easy for you_

 

Ladybug smiled at her.  “Thanks, Alya.  You really should get out of here, though.” 

 Alya merely rolled her eyes.  _And miss all the action?_

Ladybug shook her head at the blogger, but she knew better than to press the issue.  Besides, she was right, this didn’t seem like an especially dangerous akuma.  She stepped out from behind the car and into the open, making herself visible, and hoping to attract the attention of the akumatized victim. 

“Hello Ladybug,” a quiet voice called out from behind her.  She spun around and was startled to see a very ordinary woman standing there.  She was dressed simply in a button up cardigan and a pencil skirt.  Her hair was swept into a messy bun and she had on a pair of reading glasses.  She clutched a book in her right hand.   The only thing that set her apart as an akuma victim was the glowing purple mask on her face, and the fact that, aside from this mask, she was completely in black and white. 

“Silencer, I presume,” Ladybug responded, quickly assessing her options and working to determine where the akuma might be hidden. 

“Well reasoned,” the Silencer responded.  “I worked at the library, but I became sick of all the noise.  No one respects the quiet sanctuary of the library any more.  But I will make them see how important it is.  With Hawk Moth’s help, I will turn all of Paris into a refuge from sound.  All I have to do is get your miraculous.” 

“Is that all?” Ladybug called back.  “I’m not sure how taking my voice is going to help you get my earrings, but you are welcome to try.” 

The Silencer smiled at her, a cold, calculating smile.  “That isn’t my only power, Ladybug.”  With that, she opened her book.  It glowed a dark purple for a moment before three figures appeared before her.  They were dressed in old style clothing, with large plumed cavalier hats and dark tabards marked with a cross and the Fleur-de-lis.  Ladybug was able to identify them immediately as Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, the three musketeers. 

She took a slight step back, weighing her options as each of the three men drew a rapier and began slowly advancing.

“Three against one,” Ladybug called out, detaching her yoyo from her hip.  “That’s hardly fair.  

“Then how about three on two, milady?” Chat Noir drawled, landing beside her.  “Though, that probably just makes it even more unfair.” 

She could read the question in his eyes.  They had left things poorly, and he wasn’t sure that she wanted him there.  She flashed him a reassuring smile.  Despite her conflicted feelings, Ladybug was glad to see him.  She was pretty sure that she could handle the three musketeers on her own, but it was always nice to have backup. 

Relaxing slightly, Chat took in the scene and then did a double take.  “Are those--?”  he looked at Ladybug, his face splitting into a huge grin.  “You may not know this, bugaboo, but I happen to be an excellent fencer.”  Pulling out his staff and wielding it as a sword, he made quick work of disarming the first musketeer.  The man vanished the moment the rapier left his hand, allowing Chat to turn and immediately parry a blow from the second.  After only a few additional moves, Chat was able to efficiently disarm this opponent as well. 

Ladybug watched in awe as Chat took on the final sword fighter.  He was in his element, and she couldn’t help but be impressed by her partner.  He was incredible, with or without the mask.  She felt herself flush and mentally kicked herself for allowing those intruding thoughts into her mind again.  Right now, she needed to be Ladybug, and that meant that she needed to keep a clear head. 

“Sorry to just _thrust_ my way into the situation, milady,” Chat was saying.  Distracted as she was, Ladybug had missed his disarming of the third musketeer.  He was now approaching her, clipping his staff back to its place at his back.  “I know you would have _foil_ ed them on your own in no time.”  He dropped the Cheshire grin that Chat was so known for and a real smile replaced it.  “But seriously, the Three Musketeers?  How awesome was that?” 

Ladybug couldn’t help but smile back, despite his use of puns. 

A loud scream brought them back to reality as they remembered they still had the akuma victim to deal with.  

“Can’t I just have a minute to _sabre_ this moment,” Chat whined. 

This seemed to enrage the Silencer further.  “I. Despise. Puns.” She muttured through gritted teeth.  Chat looked affronted, but before he could reply, the Silencer raised a finger to her mouth and made a soft shushing noise.  

With a leap, Ladybug was able to shove Chat Noir out of the way of the attack, and roll him behind a nearby building.  She scrambled to climb off of him as quickly as possible, avoiding the suggestive look he shot her.  Usually, she would just roll her eyes at his antics, but the reminder that this wasn’t just Chat Noir, that it was also _Adrien_ made everything more awkward. 

Catching on to his partner’s unease, Chat Noir kicked himself for being so forward.  “Sorry, LB.”  He cleared his throat, ignoring the blush on Ladybug’s face.  “She hasn’t used the book again, so maybe it has a cooling down period?  What’s her other power?”

“Um, well, she’s the Silencer so she, uh, silences people?” Ladybug stuttered back.

“Would’ve thought you’d just let her hit me then,” Chat joked, though he was only half kidding. 

Ladybug pulled herself together.  “Have you ever used your power without calling for it out loud?”  Understanding dawned on his face.  “Yeah, me neither.  I don’t know if it will work, so we should probably try to end this sooner than later.” 

“Right,” Chat responded, looking at her expectantly. 

“Right,” she replied.  The two of them stood there, looking at each other awkwardly. 

“So…maybe use your Lucky Charm?” Chat finally added.

“Right,” Ladybug said again, annoyed at herself.  She pulled out her yoyo and threw it in the air.  “Lucky Charm!” 

An air horn fell into her hands.  She glanced around, but the only things that lit up in black and red were her hands and the air horn.  “Ok, so the akuma has to be in her book.  I guess we just annoy her enough until she’s distracted and take it from her?” 

“Right up my alley, milady,” Chat replied with a wink.  He tore out of their hiding place.  “Hey Silencer, come get me!”

Ladybug rolled her eyes and crept cautiously back out into the open.  Chat was doing a great job of distracting the Silencer, who was firing off shot after shot.  Judging by Chat’s raucous yells, he hadn’t been hit yet.  Ladybug slipped quietly up behind the librarian, and pressed firmly down on the airhorn. 

The resulting blast was deafening.  The Silencer screamed and covered her ears, causing her to drop the book.  Ladybug’s reflexes kicked in, despite the ringing in her ears and she was able to snatch it from the ground and toss it to Chat. 

He plucked it from the air and, using Cataclysm, destroyed the book, releasing the akuma.  Ladybug went through the motions of catching, purifying and releasing the butterfly before she called up Miraculous Ladybug by throwing the air horn into the air.  There hadn’t been much damage caused by this akuma, but she assumed the silenced people would want their voices back, and it had the added benefit of stopping the ringing in her ears.  

She glanced over and saw the Silencer had returned to normal, and was being comforted by what looked to be several of her coworkers.  Seems like everything was back to normal. 

“Pound it!” Chat Noir called, holding out his fist for their trademark celebration.  _Well, almost everything,_ she thought as she returned the gesture with less enthusiasm than usual. 

She noticed Alya approaching with a herd of reporters on her tail.  “I should go,”

“Wait,” Chat requested, placing his hand on her arm.  “Can we talk some more?”

“I can’t, I’m about to change back.”

“I know, but I thought, maybe I could come with you?”

Ladybug chewed her lip nervously, “Chaton…”

He dropped his hand.  “It’s fine,” he replied with a fake smile.  “Forget it.  I understand.  I’ll see you around, Ladybug.” 

“Chat,” she called again, but he was already gone.  The beeping from her earrings intensified, meaning that she had less than a minute before transforming back.  She thought briefly of following him.  She knew where he was going after all, but she couldn’t do it.  Not yet.  Instead she flashed the reporters a smile and a salute before swinging off to her own home.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I know nothing at all about sword fighting, so all the apologies about that brief little, horribly written scene. It wasn't supposed to happen, but when the three musketeers showed up, I just got this image of Adrien, nerd that he is, being so excited to have a chance to fight them, so it slipped in. 
> 
> I'm also not great with writing action, so just apologies all around for the akuma battle being more of an akuma conversation. Gah, I'm rubbish at this. 
> 
> Anyway, any feedback you have would be greatly appreciated. I'm new to the fandom and just started writing again after a long hiatus, so I know I'm pretty rusty. Let me know if things seem relatively in character or if I'm completely off base. 
> 
> I'm struggling a bit with the next chapter, but am hoping to stay on track and have it up by the end of the weekend. This story is taking on a life of it's own and refusing to play nicely with the outline I created... 
> 
> Thanks for reading!  
> -Sing


	3. Chapter 3

 

Ladybug’s transformation wore off at the same moment that she landed on her bedroom floor.  Her thoughts were racing as she caught Tikki and carried her over to the cookie jar on her desk.  As Tikki began to eat, Marinette sank onto her desk chair and buried her head in her arms. 

 

“What have I done, Tikki?  Did I ruin everything?”

 

Tikki was quiet for a moment, thoughtful as she nibbled at her cookie.  “I wouldn’t say you ruined _everything_ but you certainly could have handled it better.” 

 

“I know,” Marinette groaned.  “I was just so surprised, I didn’t know how to react.  I mean, it’s _Adrien._   How did I never notice it was him?  Sure, his eyes are different and his hair is messier, but other than that, Chat Noir is just Adrien in a mask and tighter clothing.”

 

“Part of the power of the miraculous is to help keep your secret,” Tikki explained.  “As long as you want to keep your identity a secret, the miraculous will help that happen.  Not to say people haven’t found out on their own in the past, but it’s a rare occurrence.  Now that he chose to reveal himself to you, it seems obvious, but no one else can see it.”  Tikki picked up another cookie.  “I’m a little surprised at you, Marinette.  I thought you would be happy to find out that the boy you like is your partner.”  

 

“It’s not that simple, Tikki.”  Marinette climbed out of her seat and started pacing the room.  “Not only is Adrien a famous model and the most perfect person who has ever lived, but it turns out that in his free time, he’s a superhero who saves Paris on a regular basis.  How am I suppose to measure up to that?”

 

Tikki sighed, “Have you forgotten that you are also a superhero who regularly saves Paris?”  Marinette scoffed, but Tikki continued.  “We’ve been over this, Marinette.  You _are_ Ladybug.  The miraculous chose you because _you_ were the best fit.  It didn’t make you a hero, it just enhanced who you already are.  The reason Ladybug is such an amazing hero is because you are an amazing person. 

 

“But I’m such a klutz!  And a spaz and I’m always running late, and I still have trouble speaking in entire sentences when Adrien is around.”

 

“But you have no trouble talking to Chat Noir,” Tikki pointed out. 

 

Marinette heaved a sigh and collapsed into her chair once again.  “Until I found out he was Adrien.” 

 

“Then look at it the other way.  Don’t see Chat Noir as Adrien.  See Adrien as Chat Noir.  Next time you see Adrien, remind yourself that this is the same person you’ve been fighting next to and bantering with for two years.” 

 

“I don’t know if I can.  I guess I just expected Chat to be someone ordinary.  I never even considered that he could be Adrien.  They’re just so different.”

 

“Are they, Marinette?  Maybe you just don’t know them as well as you thought you did.”

 

Marinette fell silent.  Could that be true?  She and Chat had always been fairly secretive with one another.  She had picked up few details about him in their years together, but until last night, she really had no idea what his life was like as a civilian.  As for Adrien, she knew lots of details about his life.  She could rattle off his birthday and favourite color.  Though she no longer meticulously tracked his schedule, she knew the types of activities he was involved with.  She knew he was a good student, and that physics was his favourite class.  She even knew that he often smelled vaguely of cheese and it embarrassed him if it was ever mentioned.  But did all of this add up to actually knowing a person? 

 

“I think you’re being kind of silly, Marinette,” Tikki stated, breaking into Marinette’s thoughts.  “Adrien is your friend and Chat Noir is your partner.  There’s no reason why this shouldn’t be a good thing.”

 

“I just…I don’t want him to be disappointed.  He thinks so highly of Ladybug.  What is he going to think when he finds out that she’s just…me?”

 

“I’m not trying to be mean, Marinette, but you seem awfully fixated on how this situation will affect you.  Have you thought about how Chat must be feeling?  He told you his secret and you didn’t exactly react positively.”

 

When Marinette didn’t reply, Tikki fluttered over and settled in her lap.  “I think it’s important that you remember how much Chat needed to tell you his secret.” 

 

“What do you mean, Tikki?”

 

“You said it yourself, right before he told you, you could tell that it was important to him.  Have you thought about why that is?”

 

She hadn’t, but she did now.  She remembered what Chat had said about his life being lonely before.  That made sense with what she knew of Adrien, how he was homeschooled for years and didn’t really get to socialize, except for with Chloe, which really didn’t count in Marinette’s opinion.  But he shouldn’t be lonely anymore, right?  Everyone in class loved him.  He had lots of friends now, Nino for one, and—her thoughts froze there.  She realized that was it.  Sure, she and Alya hung out with Nino and Adrien a lot, but did that make them all friends?  Did it count if they never spent time just the two of them?  He had always been so nice and well liked that it never dawned on her that he could be lonely.  She wondered what else she had never noticed. 

 

“What am I going to do, Tikki?  I think I really hurt him.” 

 

 

*                      *                      *

 

 

Adrien felt like tearing his entire bedroom apart, but years of practice in how to subdue and hide his feelings kicked in and he curled up in the corner of his couch, rocking gently and digging his fingers through his hair. 

 

“Adrien?”  Plagg called softly, hovering over the boy’s shoulder. 

 

He looked up, tears brimming in his eyes.  “I screwed up, Plagg.  I pushed her too far.  I messed everything up.” 

 

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up.  She’s Ladybug, you’re the Black Cat.  The two of you are meant to be a team.  You’ll work it out.”

 

“How?  How are we supposed to work this out?  Did you see her at the akuma fight?  She could barely even look at me, let alone talk to me.  And she was completely off her game.”  He paused, wiping his hands across his face.  “This was supposed to make things better, not worse.  What do I do?  I can’t lose her, Plagg.” 

 

He looked so desperate that Plagg swooped down and nuzzled against his cheek for a moment.  “Look, I know that being the Black Cat is no picnic. When your power is destruction, it’s easy to blame yourself any time things go wrong, but this wasn’t your fault.  You know I’d be the first to call you out if you did something stupid, but this…this wasn’t stupid, kid.”

 

Adrien slowly lifted his head, “Thanks, Plagg.” 

 

“I mean, you can’t control her reaction.  How were you to know she’d be such a jerk.”

 

“Plagg!”

 

“What?  Just calling it how I see it.  You gave her a choice.  She’s the one who decided that you could reveal yourself, and then she’s the one who made it weird.”  He sighed melodramatically and flopped onto his back.  “Can we be done with the emotional part now, because I’m starving and you owe me cheese.  A lot of cheese actually.”

 

Adrien rolled his eyes, but he got up and crossed to the fridge, removing several wedges of Camembert.  “You can have this, but only if you promise to stop trash talking Ladybug.” 

 

Plagg shrugged, “Fine, fine, whatever you say.”  He stretched out his arms and claimed the cheese eagerly.  Adrien collapsed back onto his couch, one arm covering his face.  The room was quiet for a moment, Plagg’s chewing, the only sound. 

 

“You know,” the kwami said between bites, “this really is all Ladybug’s fault though.”

 

“Plagg,” Adrien groaned, “you promised.” 

 

“It’s not trash talk if it’s true.”

 

 

 

*                      *                      *

 

 

The next day at school, Marinette had trouble focusing on what was being taught, as she was preoccupied with watching Adrien.  Admittedly, if she were honest with herself, this was nothing new, but now that she knew his secret, she couldn’t help but look for Chat Noir in every movement he made.  She also wondered what other secrets he might be keeping.

 

She was pulled out of her thoughts by a collective groan sounding throughout the classroom.  She turned toward Alya in alarm.  “What?  What did I miss?”

 

Alya rolled her eyes at the girl seated next to her.  “Miss Bustier just announced a new partner project, but we have to work with someone other than our regular partner.”  A mischievious glint filled her eye.  “Which is perfect actually.  This is your chance, girl!  Ask Adrien to be your partner!”

 

Marinette opened her mouth to protest, but then she shut it again.  Alya was right.  This was her chance.  If she partnered with Adrien on this project, it would give her an excuse to spend more time with him.  Ladybug and Chat Noir were having trouble communicating, and Marinette had no way to contact Chat, but Marinette could talk to Adrien, as long as she was careful.  It would give her a chance to study him, to figure out how he and Chat Noir fit together, and, if she was lucky, might even offer a way for her to fix things between Chat and Ladybug. 

 

She took a deep breath, summoned her courage, and tapped Adrien on the shoulder.  She heard Alya let out a gasp of surprise. 

 

When he turned to face her, a polite smile on his face, she almost lost her nerve.  Instead, she took another breath and reminded herself that this was Chat Noir she was talking to.  Her brash, silly partner who she had never had trouble being assertive with.  She focused on his eyes, so different from Chat’s but the same vivid green color.  “Would you like to partner me, I mean be my partner for the project?”

 

Before he could answer, Chloe slid onto the seat next to him and wrapped him in a side hug.  “You’ll be my partner, won’t you Adrikins?”

                                              

Adrien froze for a moment, glancing awkwardly between the two girls.  “Um, sorry Chlo, but Marinette’s already asked.” 

 

“So?” she shot back.  “She can partner Sabrina.” 

 

“Sorry, Chloe,” he repeats, gently removing her arm from around his waist.  “Marinette asked first.” 

 

Chloe glared daggers at Marinette, but the other girl just smirked at her before turning back to the front to face her partner. 

 

 

*                      *                      *

 

They met in the library after school that day to discuss the project.  The basic idea was to pick one classic French novel and present it to the class in a memorable way.  So far, however, they had just been sitting at opposite sides of the table, reading the book list to themselves, and dealing with the awkward silence. 

 

Marinette could tell that Adrien was not doing well.  He was distracted and distant and looked as if he hadn’t slept.  She felt terrible, and wanted to do something to make him feel better, but she wasn’t sure what.  She wasn’t feeling ready to reveal her identity, and nothing short of that seemed like enough, but she figured that talking wouldn’t hurt.  Once again, she reminded herself that she was talking to Chat, though this wasn’t the type of conversation they usually had. 

 

“Hey, Adrien?  Are you ok?”

 

“What?”  He glanced up at her, a polite smile on his face.  “Oh yeah, I’m fine, thanks.  How are you?”

 

She sighed.  “No, don’t do that.  I can tell that something is wrong.  You don’t have to pretend to be ok.  You can tell me anything, you know?”

 

He laughed a little, humourlessly.  “That’s the second time someone has said that to me this week, and the other time didn’t turn out so well.” 

 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

 

“No, I mean, yeah, I’d love to actually, but its…complicated…” he rubbed the back of his neck.  “Have you narrowed down a topic?” 

 

“Come on,” she prodded, “don’t change the subject.  We’re friends, right?  Friends talk about things that are bothering them.” 

 

He exhaled slowly.  “I appreciate the thought Marinette, but I’m really not ready to talk about it.  It’s really nice of you to offer.  Could we just focus on the project for now?”

 

She nodded back at him, feeling her heart drop.  Of course he wouldn’t talk to her.  Why would he talk to anyone after the last conversation they’d had.  She turned her attention to the list of books they had to choose from.  _The Phantom of the Opera,_ probably best to steer away from anything involving secret identities and masked figures.  Next was _The Three Musketeers_.  She considered it for a moment, remembering how happy Chat had been when he sword fought against them, but upon reading the summary, she remembered that it involved a character named ‘Milady’ and that, coupled with their last akuma battle might make this a bit much for their current situation.  She heaved another sigh and was surprised when Adrien did too. 

 

“So, there’s this girl that I…work with,” he began speaking haltingly and choosing his words carefully.  “I mean, we model together quite a lot lately, kind of like…” he trails off searching for the right word.

 

“Partners?” Marinette supplied, overjoyed that he has started to talk to her.

 

He laughed, wryly.  “I wish.  More like…well, more like I’m her sidekick, I guess.  She’s the one with the real talent.” 

 

Marinette had to force herself to bite her tongue and not comment.  Is that really how he saw himself?  She hated that he doesn’t realize how important Chat Noir is. 

 

“Anyway,” Adrien continued, “that doesn’t matter.  What matters is that I thought we were really close and I told her something that I thought would bring us even closer together, but it didn’t.  In fact, it ruined everything and now I don’t know what to do.  I need to fix this, but I don’t know how to make it better.”  He sighed, “She’s always been the one who could fix things.  I just destroy them.”  He mumbled this last part under his breath, but Marinette still heard. 

 

She reached out and placed her hand lightly on his arm.  “I bet things aren’t as bad as you think.  If she is as good a friend as you say she is, I doubt you could ever completely ruin things.  I’m sure she still cares about you.  She probably just didn’t know how to react to your news.  I bet she wants to fix things, too.” 

 

“You think?” Adrien asked, still a bit cynical. 

 

“Yes,” Marinette responded.  “Definitely.” 

 

“Thanks, Marinette,” he smiled at her, more brightly than before.  Marinette returned his smile, feeling like maybe things weren’t as broken as she feared. 

 

“As for the assignment,” Adrien continued.  “I was thinking we could do _The Three Musketeers_.  It would give me a chance to demonstrate some of the sword work I know, and maybe you could design costumes for us to wear when we do our presentation?” 

 

She was a little taken aback, but agreed readily.  Before they could make any more progress, however, Adrien’s phone let out a chirping sound.  Marinette immediately recognized it as his Ladyblog alert that she had heard the previous day.  “Sorry,” he mumbled, pulling out his phone and reading the alert quickly.  “Hey, it’s my father’s assistant.  I’ve got to get home.  Last minute fitting for my photo shoot this weekend.  Could we meet again tomorrow?”

 

“Sure,” Marinette agreed and began to gather her things as Adrien gathered his.

 

“See you tomorrow.  And thanks again for listening, Marinette.” 

 

She felt her face flush as he grabbed his bag and left the library quickly.  She gave herself a moment to bask in the gratitude Adrien had given her before following him out the door, pulling out her own silenced phone as she did so.  She needed to check the Ladyblog so she could go after her partner. 

 

 

*                      *                      *

 

When Ladybug swung into the square where the akuma attack was taking place, Chat Noir was already there, ducked behind a parked car, catching his breath.  “Greetings, milady.  Glad you came to help _meow-t_.”   

 

Despite the Cheshire grin he wore, she thought she could see something of Adrien in the sadness in his eyes, and wondered briefly what it meant that she associated Adrien with sadness, but then she tried to put all thoughts of Adrien out of her mind.  Her partner was putting on his Chat Noir front and trying to act like everything was ok in the hopes that it could be.  She could do that, too. 

 

“What do we have, kitty?” 

 

“Coach Chaos,” Chat replied, gesturing to the figure on the other side of the square.  “Near as I can tell, he’s some sort of gym teacher or sports coach.  So far, all I’ve seen him do is fire various sports balls out of that staff he’s holding – golf balls, tennis balls, footballs, I’m hoping he doesn’t come out with bowling balls next.”

 

“Ok then, you go right, I’ll go left?” 

 

“Sure thing.” 

 

Together, they tore out from their hiding spot and sprinted towards the akumatized victim, trying to get a better feel for the extent of his powers and find out where the akuma could be hiding.  Things didn’t go as smoothly as they usually had.  The duo acted more gingerly around one another.  At one point, Chat actually apologized to her after sweeping her out of the line of an attack, releasing her quickly and avoiding eye contact as he set her back on her feet.  But they know how to work together, and despite everything, they trusted one another.  When she finally called out for her Lucky Charm and a giant net fell from the sky, Chat needed nothing more than a single hand gesture to grab one end and begin pulling it in one direction, as Ladybug went the other way with the opposite end.  They effectively created a giant barrier, causing all of Coach Chaos’ attacks to be rebounded back at him.  Once he was subdued, it was easy for Ladybug to snatch his whistle and free the akuma within. 

 

By the time she purified the butterfly and called her Miraculous Ladybug, things felt almost normal.  Bumping fists with her partner, Ladybug felt herself smiling, a real, genuine smile.  Glancing at Chat, she saw his smile was real as well.  They were partners, a team, and together, they were unbeatable. 

 

She heard her earrings beep for the second time, giving her three minutes to go before her disguise failed.  She winked at her partner.  “Nice work today, kitty, but I should go.” 

 

She felt his hand grasp her arm as she turned to leave.  “Wait a second, please.” He dropped his hand quickly when she turned to face him, his expression serious. 

 

“Um, sure.  What is it?”

 

“Are we…ok?” 

 

She was taken aback.  Sure, they were a little off, but she felt like things were getting better.  “Yeah.  I mean, I am if you are.  Are you?” 

 

“Yeah, of course,” he answered quickly, flashing her a quick smile. 

 

“Chat…”

 

“You should go, your earrings…”

 

She could tell by their light vibration that she had only two minutes left.  “I know, but Chat—” 

 

“It’s fine.  I’m fine.  See you.” 

 

She hesitated just a second more, but then used her yoyo to swing away.    

 

Maybe things weren’t as ok as she hoped. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think. I appreciate every one of you who leaves a comment or a kudos or bookmarks or subscribes or even just reads the story. Some of these long comments are absolutely spoiling me and giving me so much to think about and consider, so extra thanks to the commenters. I will respond to each one, it just might take me a bit to get there. 
> 
> I've been spending far too much time thinking about this story and not enough time writing it, so things are ending up a bit messier than my original outline had planned. This chapter is a bit of the calm before the storm, so I hope it wasn't too boring. Let me know if there are any parts that you especially liked or disliked. At this point, it looks like there might be another 2-3 chapters and I think things are going to get worse before they get better. My life is getting a bit crazy coming up (I won't have another free weekend until the end of May) but I am going to try to keep up on writing a chapter every week or so. 
> 
> Thanks again for reading,  
> ~Sing


	4. Chapter 4

School the next day couldn’t pass quickly enough for Marinette. She needed to talk to Adrien, try to get some clue as to what had gone wrong at the previous night’s akuma battle. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the sort of issue she could just raise quickly between classes or at lunch when there were other people around. She knew she needed to wait until they met to work on their project after school. 

Throughout the day, she kept sneaking glances at Adrien, trying to see if she could glean any clues to how he was feeling from his actions or body language, but she didn’t notice anything unusual. It was so frustrating, being so close to him, but not being able to really talk with him. 

Finally, their final class ended and Marinette packed up her things at record speed. She fidgeted in her chair, waiting as Adrien chatted with Nino and slowly packed up his things in front of her. By the time he stood up and turned to face her, there was no one else left in the classroom.

“Hey Marinette, sorry to keep you waiting. Are you ready to head to the library?” 

She nodded quickly, not trusting herself to speak. 

When they arrived at the library, they were surprised to see that it was crowded. They could see most of the members of their own class as well as students from several other classes. It seemed like nearly everyone had big projects to work on. Glancing around, there didn’t seem to be a single open table. 

This wouldn’t do. There was no way Marinette could have a personal conversation with Adrien with this many people around. “Um…” she began. “My house is just across the street. We could go study there instead? I mean, if you want to.” 

Adrien’s face lit up. He had fond memories of practicing for the video game tournament at Marinette’s house last year. Admittedly, most of those memories were about the snacks her parents kept bringing by, but he also remembered her house as being cozy and warm, and basically the opposite of his own. “That sounds great,” he replied with a smile. 

She nodded again, racking her brain and trying to remember the state of her bedroom. Had she left anything embarrassing out? She didn’t have any pictures of Adrien left up on her walls did she? “Ok,” she mumbled, starting to panic slightly as she led the way out of the school. 

Adrien noticed that she seemed nervous and wasn’t sure why. “Are you sure your parents won’t mind?” he asked, trying to be considerate. “We could find somewhere else to work on the project if it’s going to be a problem.” 

“No, no, it’s fine,” Marinette brushed off his concerns. “My parents won’t mind. They like you.” 

“Really?” he asked, unsure of how to respond to that. It felt really good to hear that people as nice as Marinette’s parents liked him. 

“Of course,” she replied. “I mean, what’s not to like?” Her eyes widened and she felt her face flush. She couldn’t believe she had just said that out loud. She fought the urge to stammer out an apology, knowing that in her current state, she would just end up blurting out something even more embarrassing. If she wasn’t so busy steadfastly ignoring Adrien, she would have seen that his face reddened as well. 

They walked the rest of the, blissfully short, way to the bakery in silence, each carefully avoiding eye contact with the other. 

When they arrived at the bakery, Marinette broke the silence. “Let me just say hi to my parents quick, then we can go upstairs. 

“Maman! Papa! I’m home!” 

Sabine came out from the back, dusting her flowery hands on her apron. “I thought you were staying after school to—” she stopped her sentence when she caught sight of Marinette’s guest. “Adrien! How lovely to see you. I didn’t know you were coming over. Tom! Come out and say hello to Adrien.” 

Marinette shifted uncomfortably. “The library was pretty crowded, so we decided to work on our project here.” 

Tom came out from the kitchen to join his wife. “Adrien, nice to see you. It’s been too long.” 

Adrien smiled shyly at this warm welcome. “It’s nice to see you both, too. I hope it’s alright that I came over unannounced.” 

Sabine smiled gently, but Tom let out a loud laugh. “Of course it is! Come over any time. We’re always happy to see you.” 

“Ok, well, we’ll be upstairs working on our project,” Marinette interrupted, grabbing Adrien’s arm and starting to pull him out of the bakery and into the main house. 

“Take a snack with you!” Sabine called after them. “And Adrien, I hope you’re staying for dinner!”

“Uh, sure, thanks Mrs. Cheng,” Adrien called over his shoulder as he was drug out of the bakery. 

Stopping only briefly to pick up a plate of croissants, Marinette towed Adrien all the way to her room before she finally released him. She flushed slightly at the realization that she had just drug Adrien all the way to her bedroom. “Sorry about all of that,” she blushed, offering the tray of croissants to Adrien before settling into one of her desk chairs. “I know my parents can be a bit…much.” 

“What?” Adrien responded, genuinely confused. “Your parents seem great. I wish my dad was half that nice to my friends. Heck, if he could avoid being openly hostile toward Nino, I’d be happy.” He chose a croissant and took a large bite, savoring the buttery flavour as he settled into the chair beside her.

Marinette offered a sympathetic smile, and then chewed on her lip trying to work up the nerve to ask her next question. She knew this was her chance to ask him about last night, but there was another question she wanted to ask. Something that she had wondered about for a long time. If her goal was really to get to know her partner better, this could be a good place to start. “Could I ask you something? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. It’s kind of personal, and it might not be the type of thing you like to talk about, but—”

“You want to know what happened to my mother?”

Marinette gaped at him. He smiled slightly in return. 

“It’s a more common question than you’d think. The truth is, I don’t know. She just disappeared a few months before I started school. No one knows where she is or why she left, and no one has heard from her since, at least as far as I know.” 

“I’m so sorry, Adrien,” Marinette reached over and rested her hand on his arm. “That must be terrible, not knowing what happened to her.” 

“Yeah,” Adrien responded. He wanted to add that it was even worse because he lost his father at the same time. His father had always been a little distant, a little formal, but he used to pay attention. He used to show affection more than just occasionally, and he used to actually listen to what Adrien had to say. Gabriel had been broken by his wife’s disappearance. He pulled away from everyone, but no one more than Adrien. Adrien wanted to tell her that he loved seeing her parents interact, because it reminded him of his own parents when he was young and they were still so in love. Before his dad became a fashion icon, before his mother became unhappy, before their family broke apart. He wanted to tell her all of this, but he didn’t. He had learned his lesson about giving away too many of his secrets. 

“So, have you thought any more about the project?” he said instead, trying to change the subject. 

Marinette could tell that he was feeling uncomfortable, so she didn’t press it. Instead, she sheepishly admitted that she hadn’t thought about the project at all since the previous afternoon. The akuma attack and her concerns about Chat Noir had taken over her thoughts.

“Oh, um, me neither,” Adrien responded, laughing slightly. “Well, we had talked yesterday about dressing up as two of the characters.” 

“Right,” Marinette replied, reaching for a second croissant. “You could be D’Artagnan, of course.” 

“And you could be Milady!” 

Marinette choked on the bite of croissant she had just taken. What had he just called her? Did he know? How could he know? “I, er, who—what?” she stammered.

“Milady de Winter?” Adrien replied, unsure of what he had said to make her react so severely. “Or you could dress as Madame Bonacieux or the Queen, whoever you’d like.” 

She exhaled slowly. Of course he was referring to that Milady. She was one of the primary antagonists in the story, after all. “Sorry, yeah, Milady will be great,” Marinette attempted to sound ordinary and nonchalant, but was certain she had failed. 

Adrien shot her a concerned look, but decided to let her outburst go. He was used to a certain amount of strange behaviour from Marinette after all. Instead, he helped himself to a second croissant and started to look up clothing descriptions in the novel. 

They spent the next hour making a plan and dividing up the work for their project. Marinette’s parents mostly left them alone, popping up only twice. Once to ask if they needed anything to drink, and the second time to find out if Adrien had any special requests for dinner. (He felt a little rush of warmth at their question and the fact that they cared enough to ask.)

When it seemed like they had a good handle on the project, Marinette climbed out of her chair and stretched. She was running out of time. If she wanted to ask Adrien about last night, she was going to have to do it soon. “Well, there is still about half an hour until dinner will be ready,” she announced looking at her clock. 

“We could get started on those physics problems?” Adrien suggested. 

Marinette groaned. Physics was one of her least favourite subjects, and one that Adrien was great at. She knew she should take advantage of Adrien’s expertise, but it would be hard to chat if they were still working on homework. 

“I have a better idea,” Marinette countered, reaching over and pulling two video game controllers out of her desk drawer. “It’s been ages since we played.

Adrien laughed, accepting one of them. “You’re on.”

 

Several games later, Adrien was slouched down in defeat. “Ugh, I didn’t think it was possible, but you’re even better than you were before,” he moaned, setting his controller down on the desk. “You’re really amazing at this, Marinette.”

She felt her cheeks heat up at the compliment, but she saw her opening and was determined to take it. “Well, I do practice a lot. I mean, you’re always so busy, you probably don’t have a lot of time to play. Speaking of which, how did the fitting go last night?”

“The fitting?” Adrien asked, confused for a moment as he tried to figure out what Marinette was asking. His eyes widened when he remembered the story he had told her the day before. “Oh, the fitting, right. It was…ok, I guess.”

“Was she there?” Marinette asked, trying for nonchalance, but not quite succeeding.

Adrien didn’t seem to notice. “Oh, yeah, she was.”

“And?” Marinette prompted, leaning forward in her chair.

“And what?”

“And how did it go?” She sighed. “Did you talk to her?”

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, self-consciously. “It went fine, I guess. I mean, things were a little awkward at first, but we work together well, so it went ok.” 

Marinette shot him a look. That had not been her impression at all. Sure, they had worked together well, they always did, but she could tell things were far from ok. 

Adrien sighed heavily. “It really was ok. It’s just…” he paused, unsure if he wanted to get into this with Marinette. He liked her well enough, but he didn’t really know her that well. Glancing up, he noticed how earnestly she was watching him, as if she really cared what he said next and his resistance vanished. “She’s acting like nothing happened, like things are the same as they’ve always been.” 

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Yes! No! I mean…ugh, I don’t know what I mean. When things seemed so messed up between us, I thought I would be happy with that. I thought I could be ok with pretending I never said anything. We had a good thing—our working relationship, I mean,” he flushed slightly, aware of the possible implications of his words. “I’m glad we can still work together, but I don’t want to pretend things are the same, you know? I mean, my secret? It was a pretty important one, kind of game changer. I knew it would change things when I told her, and I was ready for that. I don’t think I can go back to how it was before. I don’t even know if I would want to.” 

Marinette didn’t respond. She wasn’t sure what to say to all of that. 

“It’s stupid,” Adrien said, quickly, filling the silence. “I’m being overdramatic.” He flashed a quick smile at Marinette, but she didn’t return it. 

“No, you aren’t,” she replied, reaching over and resting her hand on knee. “Not at all. It’s obviously important to you, and I can tell that she’s important to you, too. Maybe she just needs more time to…process,” she finished lamely. 

“Yeah, maybe,” he responded, but he didn’t sound like he believed it. His face brightened a little as he looked up at her. “Thanks for listening, Marinette. I know I’m being kind of a jerk, talking about this big secret but not letting you in on it.”

Marinette shook her head. “You’re not. With the way things went with your friend, I’m not surprised you don’t want to tell anyone else. But you can talk to me, anytime.” 

“Marinette? Adrien? It’s time for dinner!” Mrs. Cheng poked her head into Marinette’s room followed by her husband. 

Marinette pulled her hand back quickly, breaking her contact with Adrien, and flushing once again. “Ok, we’ll be right down,” she responded, a slight edge to her voice. Her parents exchanged knowing glances and retreated down the stairs. 

She climbed to her feet, unable to meet Adrien’s eyes. “Shall we?” Turning to go, she was surprised to feel his hand reach out and grab hers, stopping her in her tracks. 

“Wait,” he said, “I—” he struggled to figure out where he was going with that sentence. “I—thanks, Marinette,” he finished squeezing her hand gently before releasing it. 

She smiled softly at him as she led the way downstairs for dinner. “You’re welcome.” 

 

* * *

Dinner went wonderfully. Adrien seemed to really enjoy the food, her parents weren’t too embarrassing, and Marinette had managed to avoid saying anything that made her wish she could disappear. By the time Adrien left, and Marinette returned to her bedroom, she knew exactly what she needed to do. 

She would tell him. Now. Tonight. She would fix everything, after all, that was her specialty. 

* * *

Adrien was happy. It was almost a strange feeling as he stretched out on his bed after arriving home. He’d always been friendly with Marinette, but today was the first time he had ever really spoken with her, and he found that she was really easy to talk to. It surprised him a bit, she usually stammered and misspoke around him, but tonight was different. He wasn’t sure why, but he hoped this meant they were becoming friends. 

With a sigh, he climbed out of bed and crossed the room to his desk, where he pulled out his physics book and got started on the problems. He looked up with a start when he heard a soft thump hit his bedroom floor. 

“You know, the downside of you revealing your identity to me is now I can stop by and bug you any time I want,” Ladybug said with a smirk as she landed gracefully on the carpet in his bedroom. 

Adrien instantly felt his good mood sink, the opposite of what usually happened when he saw his partner. “I don’t think that’s the downside, milady,” he responded, his voice strangely flat. “What are you doing here?” He had been having such a good day. He didn’t want to have this conversation with her, not right now.

Ladybug felt her confidence deflat slightly. She should have realized that he wouldn’t exactly be excited to see her, but she would change that. “I’ve been thinking, you’re right. I think it’s time that you know who I am, underneath this mask.”

Adrien got to his feet and approached her. “No,” he responded simply. 

Her jaw dropped, “What do you mean, no? I thought that’s what you wanted.”

Adrien sighed and rubbed the back of his neck feeling his agitation growing. She really didn’t understand anything. “I don’t want you to ‘think’ you’re ready, I want you to know you’re ready. I knew I was ready to tell you, but you only thought you were ready to hear it and look how that turned out. I don’t want to make that mistake again.” He stopped and took a deep breath before continuing. “I want to know who you are, but I don’t want you to tell me until you are 100%, without a doubt sure. So are you?” His eyes met hers, challenging her to answer.

Ladybug hesitated. An hour ago, she would have said yes. During dinner, she looked over at Adrien and was convinced that was exactly what she wanted, but now, standing before him, she wasn’t sure. Her insecurities started to rise again and she couldn’t help but feel that he would be disappointed to discover who she was. She looked away.

“That’s what I thought,” Adrien responded, a slight bitterness in his tone. Turning his back on her, he walked back to his desk where his books were waiting. 

She had to stop him. She had to say something. “It’s not you, Adrien, it--”

“Please do not give me the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ speech,” he interrupted, freezing in place.

“Even if it’s true?”

“It’s never true.” 

“Chat…” 

He turned back towards her, a sad smile on his face. “It’s fine. We’re still partners, right?”

“Of course,” she responded fervently, taking a step towards him. “Always.” 

“Good, let’s stick with that for now. We’ll talk when you’re ready.” 

Ladybug could tell that she was being dismissed, but she wasn’t ready to leave. She had been so sure that she could fix things, but if anything, she just kept making them worse. “Good night, Chaton,” she finally said, turning to leave the way she had come in.

He didn’t respond.

 

Once she had left, he went over and closed his window, double checking that it and the others were locked. He didn’t need any more surprises.

“So, here’s a crazy thought,” Plagg floated over to where Adrien was standing, “ what if you just, you know, actually told her how you’re feeling. You know, let her know that you are hopelessly in love with her and that it feels like she doesn’t trust you. Maybe add in something about how it’s killing you inside that she won’t tell you who she is?”

Adrien folded his arms across his chest. “Are you capable of being helpful?”

“I’m always helpful. It’s not my fault if you don’t want to hear the truth,” Plagg responded, continuing to hover over Adrien’s shoulder. “Remember how I told you that I would let you know when you’re being stupid? Well, you’re being stupid. Normally, I wouldn’t care, but you are a mopey individual at the best of times and lately, you’ve been such a drag to be around.”

“Thanks for the pep talk.”

“Come on, already. Just talk to her. If you ask her to tell you, she will.”

Adrien collapsed onto his couch. “That’s the thing, Plagg, I really don’t want her to tell me until she’s ready. I don’t want to force her to reveal herself. I just don’t understand why she isn’t ready yet. After all the time we’ve spent together. All the Akumas we’ve faced, the blows we’ve taken for each other, I don’t understand why she doesn’t trust me.” He looked up at his kwami, desparately. “Is there something so wrong with me?”

“Kid…” Plagg said softly, nuzzling up to his charge for the second time in two days. “The only thing wrong with you is that you don’t realize how great you are.”

Rules be damned, Plagg vowed to himself that he would give Ladybug a piece of his mind the first chance he got.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there you have it...3,500 words in which nothing happens. I'm sorry. This chapter took forever to write and I'm not happy with how it turned out. This story is getting away from me. I promise there will be some actual action in the next chapter. I have everything sketched out from here to the end, so I hope you'll stick with it and that you aren't too disappointed.
> 
> Edit: Wow, thank you guys so much for all of the really kind comments you left on this chapter. I was feeling really frustrated and discouraged when I published it and I am frankly overwhelmed by how great you all are. Seriously, your comments and kudos and support really mean a lot to me.


	5. Chapter 5

Plagg was biding his time. He knew who Ladybug was. He had always known. He and Tikki had a bond, and through this bond, they could always find one another, as long as they were both active. Even without that bond, Plagg was a kwami and kwamis had the ability to see beyond the glamour of the miraculous, so he had recognized Marinette as soon as he saw her. 

She had seemed nice enough. After their initial interactions, she and Adrien had been friendly, even if she was a bit awkward around him. He was content to let them figure things out on their own. He knew they’d get there eventually. It was hard, knowing that Tikki was so close, but not being able to speak with her or even see her, but being alive for hundreds of years had taught him patience, even though it was a trait that didn’t come to him naturally.

Plagg knew the rules, better yet, he knew the consequences for interfering, so he stayed silent, but it was getting harder and harder to do so as time went on. 

Plagg could feel the underlying awkwardness as Ladybug and Chat Noir were together. They were still a team, they still fought well together, if anything, they had actually become more efficient. But there was less chatter, less conversation. Chat Noir made fewer jokes and Ladybug rarely smiled. When they were together without an akuma to face, things were worse. They just didn’t have anything to say to one another. On patrols, they used to chase each other across the city, darting through alleys and over roofs in a never-ending game of tag, but the joy had gone out of it. They no longer even patrolled side by side, but split up to “cover more ground.” Things were stilted and uneasy. As time went on, it only seemed to get worse. 

Plagg knew that Adrien loved being Chat Noir. The boy had taken to his new identity with a zeal that Plagg had rarely seen from a miraculous holder, but that was fading and Plagg was not going to lose his charge to something as stupid as this giant mess of teenaged angst. 

At the same time, he watched as Marinette and Adrien spent more time together. He saw them becoming more comfortable with one another, Marinette becoming more confident in speech and manner and Adrien becoming more open and playful. Plagg had mixed feelings, to say the least. 

“You should be careful, you know,” Plagg finally told him one night, as Adrien was getting ready for bed.

“Careful of what?” the boy responded, continuing to change into his pyjamas. 

“I’ve seen you with Marinette. Are you sure you’re ready to jump back into the love game already?”

Adrien sputtered in surprise, getting his arm stuck in his pyjama top. “I-what-Marinette is just a friend!” 

“Yeah, sure, whatever you have to tell yourself,” Plagg responded lazily. 

“I think I know how I’m feeling better than you do,” Adrien shot back, finally getting his clothes on straight and stalking over to his bed. 

“Again, whatever you have to tell yourself, kid. Just be careful around her.” 

The boy huffed loudly as he flipped off the lights and climbed into bed, irritated at how off-base his kwami was. Marinette was just his friend. Sure, they were becoming closer and with his feelings for Ladybug starting to fade, he could imagine he might develop feelings for Marinette someday. She was great, but he still cared about Ladybug and was still hoping that they would work things out. Still, Marinette was pretty cute…

Adrien shifted uncomfortably as he felt himself blush a little in the darkness and was annoyed to hear a chuckle coming from the spot where Plagg typically curled up to sleep. 

Damn kwami with his damn night vision.

 

* * *

 

Plagg had been biding his time, but enough was enough. He knew who Ladybug was and he was going to talk to her today. He very much doubted that she would enjoy the conversation. 

When Adrien arrived at school, he was surprised to see Marinette already in her seat. His face lit up momentarily at the sight of her, but then he scowled, thinking of his conversation with Plagg from the night before. It is normal for friends to be happy to see one another, Adrien thought to himself. And it is perfectly appropriate for friends to find one another attractive. It doesn’t mean that I like her like that. None of this means that Plagg is right. He met Marinette’s eyes and saw that she was looking at him, a bit confused. He realized he was still scowling and softened his expression as he crossed the room to talk with her. 

“Hey, Marinette.”

“Hi, is everything ok?” she asked, a touch of apprehension in her voice. 

Plagg rolled his eyes at the small talk, but decided this was his chance. With Adrien leaning over her desk, the pocket where he was hiding was mere inches away from the top of her fractionally open backpack. 

He cautioned a quick glance to make sure he wouldn’t be seen and then dropped into the opening. 

The kwami landed on something soft that gave a muffled squeak of surprise. Oh, right, of course Tikki would be here. For some reason, that had slipped his mind. He had a feeling that his plan had just gotten a bit more complicated. 

“Plagg? What are you doing here?” Tikki asked in a stern whisper. “You should be with Chat Noir!” 

“Yeah, well, he’s like six inches away, I think I’m ok.” 

Tikki glared at him for a few more seconds, then her stern expression faded as he embraced him tightly. “Oh, Plagg, I’ve missed you so much.” 

“I’ve missed you, too, Tikki,” he whispered softly, returning her embrace. 

They remained like that for several moments, until Tikki pulled away, wiping her eyes. “Still, you shouldn’t be here. You know the rules. We can’t interfere!”

Plagg rolled his eyes. “The only rule is that we can’t reveal the identity of any miraculous holder. I haven’t told Chat Noir anything, and I won’t, but that doesn’t mean I can’t talk to Ladybug. Since she already knows who holds the black cat, there isn’t any risk involved. Come on, Tikki, just let me talk to her.” 

Tikki hesitated. She had a feeling she knew what kind of conversation Plagg was planning to have and while part of her wanted to protect Marinette from that, part of her was ready to shake the girl herself. She had tried to gently persuade Marinette into revealing her identity numerous times over the past few weeks, she’d even tried her own brand of tough love, but to no avail. Maybe it was time to let someone else have a chance. 

“Ok,” she said softly, “but we have to be careful how we do this, and we need to do it fast. You shouldn’t be separated from Adrien for longer than is necessary.” 

“Psh,” Plagg scoffed. “You worry too much.”

Tikki rolled her eyes, but peeked out the top of the backpack. Class hadn’t started yet and Marinette was still engaged in conversation with Adrien. She glanced around, but no one else seemed to be paying them any attention, so she started to wave energetically, trying to catch her charge’s eye. Marinette was too caught up in her conversation to notice. Tikki tried to think up another way to get the girl’s attention when she was startled by Marinette’s phone ringing. Glancing down, Tikki saw Plagg messing with the device and grinning mischievously. 

“Sorry,” they heard Marinette mumble as she pulled her bag closer to herself. “I could have sworn I turned that off.” 

Opening the bag, Marinette caught sight of Tikki and Plagg and gave a yelp of surprise. 

“Everything ok?” Adrien asked, leaning over her shoulder and trying to see inside of her bag. 

“Yeah, yeah, everything is fine!” Marinette babbled loudly, zipping the bag shut to block Adrien’s view. “A bottle of lotion just spilled inside, so I should go get it cleaned up. I’ll be back!” She practically ran out of the room with her bag, taking no notice of several of her classmates watching her in confusion. 

There were still several minutes before class started, so Marinette racked her brain, trying to come up with a place she could go for some privacy. She remembered that there was no first period gym class, so she made her way towards the locker room, which was, thankfully, deserted. 

“Well, well, well,” the black kwami began, floating up out of her backpack. “It’s about time we met, Ladybug.” 

Marinette shushed him frantically, despite knowing they were alone. “Shh! Tikki! Did you tell him?” 

“Of course not,” Plagg answered, brushing off Marinette’s alarm. “Tikki’s never been one for breaking the rules. Kwamis just know that kind of thing. I’m Plagg, by the way. I’m Chat Noir’s kwami, but I assume you already figured that much out.” 

Marinette’s gaze flickered back and forth between Tikki who was looking a little apprehensive and Plagg who just seemed irritated. “Does Adrien know?” she asked in a small voice.

“Of course not. That boy is oblivious as the day is long,” Plagg responded with a sigh, but Marinette thought she heard a touch of fondness in his tone. That vanished as he continued. “Which is why you are going to spell it out for him and you are going to do it soon.”

Marinette recoiled slightly. She got the feeling that Chat Noir’s kwami didn’t like her much. 

“Plagg!” Tikki chastised. 

“What?” he shot back. “This has gone on far too long.” He flew up to be directly in Marinette’s face. “You’re the one who screwed this all up, and you’re the one who’s going to fix it. Maybe you don’t realize how much this is messing with his head, but it’s a lot. Battle after battle, he puts himself in harms way for you. He follows your lead, does what you ask, and trusts you implicitly. And then, when he trusted you with his biggest secret, you made him feel like he means nothing to you. Like you don’t have any faith in him at all.”

“What?” Marinette gasped, horrified. “I never meant…I just…I’m the one who isn’t worthy of him. He’s amazing and I’m just…Marinette. I didn’t want to disappoint him.”

“There’s your problem. This isn’t about you. This whole time, Adrien has been nothing but patient and respectful of your feelings, but you’ve only been thinking of yourself. Either you’re too self-absorbed to notice how much you’re hurting him or you just don’t care. Adrien has precious few people in this world who care about him, and those people have a track record for letting him down. Stop being one of them.” 

“Plagg! Enough!” Tikki interrupted, noticing that Marinette had tears streaming from her eyes. 

The black kwami sighed in frustration, rubbing his temples with one of his paws, but he softened slightly. “Ugh, stupid humans with your stupid insecurities. He likes you, ok? He likes you as Ladybug and he likes you as Marinette. He likes you when he’s Chat Noir and when he’s Adrien. You all like each other no matter what you’re wearing, now can one of you just talk to one of him so we can get this whole mess over with?”

Marinette wiped her face with the back of her hand. “I didn’t mean to hurt him. Really, I didn’t.” 

“Well, you did,” Plagg replied, flying back into her backpack. “So now it’s your job to fix it.”

 

* * *

 

Marinette wasn’t sure how she made it through classes the rest of the morning. If she hadn’t needed to get Plagg back in the classroom so he could return to Adrien without him noticing, she would have just gone home. 

She knew she had hurt him, but she hadn’t realized how badly. She had messed up enough that his kwami, the one Chat Noir always complained about being interested in nothing beyond smelly cheese, had actually tracked her down to yell at her. 

When lunch time finally rolled around, Marinette knew she needed some time to herself. She blew off Alya’s attempts to talk to her and made an excuse about her parents expecting her for lunch. She practically ran home and up to her bedroom without even stopping in the bakery to say hello. 

Tikki zipped out her bag immediately and flew over to nuzzle her charge’s cheek. “I’m sorry, Marinette. I know Plagg can be a little…abrasive.” 

Marinette shook her head, sinking onto her chaise. “No, it’s my fault. You’ve been telling me that I needed to talk to him ever since that night I found out. I’m the one who let it get so out of control.”

“Still,” Tikki responded, “I know how Plagg gets. He’s very protective of his charges. He may not show it often, but he cares a great deal.” 

Marinette nodded, worrying her lip between her teeth. “I’m glad he has Plagg then. Adrien needs someone who worries about him.” She sank back into the cushions. “Do you think…our presentation is tomorrow. Would it…would it be the worst thing if I went one more day without telling him?”

Tikki sighed, “Marinette, what’s the point of putting it off?”

“I just want one more day where we can just be Adrien and Marinette. Where we can just spend time together as friends before we have to figure everything else out. Please, Tikki.”

“I think you’re just making excuses, Marinette. But you have to be the one to make that decision.”

“I know, and I will tell him, I promise. Tomorrow after school, I’ll tell him everything.”

 

* * *

 

“Wow, Marinette. These costumes are really great,” Adrien told her later that night when they met up at his house to go over the presentation one last time. 

“Thanks,” Marinette beamed back, working on hand stitching the bottom hem of her dress that had come undone as they had rehearsed. She was really proud of her work, but had to admit that it had been a bit of a rush job to get everything completed on time. All of the extra work, combined with the emotional toll of the day had left her exhausted, but she didn’t want to leave. She wanted to spend every possible moment with him before she had to tell him the truth. Regardless of what Tikki and Plagg had told her, Marinette was still afraid that Adrien would be disappointed to learn that she was Ladybug. 

She attempted to stifle her yawn, but Adrien noticed. “Are you ok? I know you’ve been working really hard on this project lately. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help out more. You’ve really outdone yourself. Do you want me to call the Gorilla to take you home?”

“No,” she replied quickly. I’m fine, just a little tired. When I get home I still have to do that history reading anyway,” she finished with a groan. 

Adrien groaned as well. “I forgot all about the history reading.” His expression turned thoughtful. “What if…since you’re kind of busy and we both need to do the reading anyway, I just read it outloud? It only seems fair, since you’re working on our project, I should help out in some way.” He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, wishing that he wasn’t so prone to flushing when he was embarrassed. 

Marinette couldn’t meet his eyes, and he noticed a pink tinge to her cheeks as well. “That sounds great, thanks.” 

He dug through his backpack, searching for his book, and grateful for the chance to turn his back on Marinette for a moment to pull himself together. 

“Got it!” he said returning to his seat near where Marinette was still sewing. He cleared his throat and began to read. 

Marinette realized pretty quickly that this was a terrible idea. She was so tired and his voice was so soothing that it was all she could do to stay awake, but she didn’t want him to stop. She enjoyed listening, even if she knew she was retaining nothing. Besides, she was almost done with this hemline. She forced herself to stay awake and tried to listen to what he was saying. 

“‘Queen Victoria became so interested in Egyptian culture that she adopted two Blue Persian cats, which became like members of her court.’” Adrien read, then he stopped for a moment. “Well, she seems like a paw-sitively delightful purrr-son.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, even though she was still focused on the hemline and knew that he couldn’t see her. “That was awful, Chaton.” 

There was silence for several moments as Marinette continued to sew, unaware that she had said anything odd. 

“I-uh-what did you say?” Adrien finally responded, his eyes wide in shock. 

“I said that your puns were awful and I’m not going to apologize because they were,” Marinette responded, still not looking up at him. 

He stared at her, hunched over her sewing, her dark hair in pigtails, just like Ladybug’s always was. He cleared his throat, his voice oddly calm. “You called me Chaton.”

Marinette’s head jerked up and she finally looked at him with the same blue eyes that he had seen behind Ladybug’s mask. Only this time, they were wearing an expression of guilt laced with fear. 

She set her sewing down upon the desk. “Adrien—” she started, but he raised a hand to stop her. 

“Ladybug’s the only one who calls me that. And she’s the only one who knows.” When Marinette didn’t respond, he took a deep, shuddering breath. “Show me.” 

“Adrien--” she tried again, but he interrupted her. 

“Show me. I think you owe me at least that much.” 

She could feel the tears brimming behind her eyes, but she struggled to keep her voice steady. “Tikki, spots on.” With a flash of pink light, she was Ladybug. 

Adrien got up from his chair and paced across the room, running his hands through his hair in frustration. 

Ladybug got up to follow him. “Adrien, wait, please let me explain. I was going to tell you. Honest, I was. I just…I wasn’t ready.” She reached out and touched him on the shoulder. “Please, just talk to me.” 

He recoiled from her touch, but spun around to face her. “Talk to you? I’ve been talking to you for weeks, but I never realized it. What was the point of that? As soon as you find out I’m Chat Noir, you try to be my best friend, but you don’t tell me who you are? You stop talking to me as Ladybug and start talking to me as Marinette? I don’t understand. Why?” 

“I’m so sorry, really, I am. I just—I didn’t know how to talk to you. You always spoke so highly of Ladybug, you put her on this pedestal, like she could do no wrong. I knew I could never live up to that image you had of her. I didn’t want you to be disappointed when you found out who I was.” 

Adrien laughed derisively. “If you think I put Ladybug on a pedestal, you’re wrong. You forget that I’ve been her partner, your partner since day one. Yes, I’ve seen you be strong and brave and smart and resourceful and courageous and all of the wonderful things that make Ladybug such a hero. But I was also there when you faced Stoneheart and almost gave up your miraculous because you didn’t think you could be Ladybug. I remember how unsure and uncertain you were and how much you didn’t feel like you could do this job. 

“I’ve also seen you be petty and jealous and a little vindictive. I’ve seen you refuse to listen to good suggestions from someone just because you didn’t like her. I know Ladybug has flaws, I’ve always known that. I’ve seen them, but I loved her anyway.” 

Ladybug inhaled sharply. He’d just said that he loved her. All those times Chat Noir flirted with her, she had assumed it was just an act. She never thought, not once that his feelings were genuine. 

“Chat--” she started, but Adrien wasn’t finished. 

“And I’ve gotten to know Marinette, too, and sure she’s a little clumsy, can be quick to judge, and sometimes acts without thinking, but she’s also kind and generous and sweet and talented, and a good person.” He stopped, his voice turning cold. “At least I thought she was. I never imagined you could be so cruel.” 

“Adrien—”

He looked up at her, and she was surprised to see tears glistening behind his eyes. “That night, when I first told you who I am, I would have been overjoyed to find out that you were Marinette. The idea that Ladybug was someone I already knew, already liked would have been amazing. I would have looked so forward to getting to know you better, spending time with you. But now? I don’t even know what to think, Marinette. I trusted you, and you didn’t trust me back. And worse than that, you did…whatever this all was.” 

She reached for him again, her own tears starting to fall. “Adrien, let me explain. Please.” 

He pulled away, turning his back on her. “I don’t think I can right now. You need to leave.” 

“Adrien.”

“Now, please. I need you to go. I can’t…I can’t do this.” He was starting to shake and he couldn’t tell if it was from anger or sadness. Either way, he didn’t want her to be there for whatever came next. 

Ladybug hesitated just a moment more, tears blurring her vision, but then she crossed to his window and pushed it open. “I’m sorry,” she whispered before launching the yoyo and swinging out of his room.

 

Adrien collapsed onto his coach, still shaking. 

“A-Adrien?” Plagg called softly, coming out from where he had been hidden in the boy’s pocket. 

“You knew, didn’t you?” he asked, his voice surprisingly steady. “You warned me about her. How could you have not told me?”

“Yeah, ok, I knew,” Plagg responded, sheepishly, “but I wasn’t allowed to say anything. Kwami are forbidden from revealing the identity of a miraculous holder. There are consequences if we break that, serious ones. Like increasingly bad luck for a millennia and having to find a new Chat Noir level consequences.”

“Maybe that would’ve been better,” Adrien mumbled, fiddling with his ring. And then, before Plagg could reply, he pulled it off and the kwami vanished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *hides*
> 
> Well, we got there...what do you think? 
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks again to all of you wonderful people who read, commented, and/or left kudos on my last chapter. Reading all of your encouraging messages pushed me to work on this chapter and get it finished way faster than I would have expected. You guys are the best. Seriously. I hope you like this chapter, I really enjoyed writing it. 
> 
> We're getting close to the end, with only one (or possibly two?) chapter(s) to go. My life is going to be crazy the next few weeks, but I will do my very best to finish this up in the next couple weeks. Thanks for sticking with me (and welcome to any new readers!)
> 
> ~Sing
> 
> P.S. I also have a tumblr...kind of...I don't really use it, but it seems like the thing to have, so you can find me there under the name SingularityStar, just in case you want to for any reason. :P


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